Chicken feta burgers are juicy, flavorful, and loaded with Greek-inspired ingredients like roasted garlic, wilted spinach, and crumbled feta, all mixed right into the patty! Grilled, baked, or pan-seared, this is the kind of juicy chicken burger recipe that rivals even the juiciest beef burgers! {Low carb & gluten-free}
Table of Contents
Chicken Feta Burgers with Spinach and Roasted Garlic
It’s the combination of spinach and briny, salty feta in these feta chicken burgers that does it for me. And then, of course, the roasted garlic that melts into the patty mixture adds a depth of flavor that’s far tastier and way more impressive than the effort it takes to make them.
It might sound fancy, but this all comes together in about 30 minutes and is simple enough for a weeknight dinner. You can cook these spinach feta chicken burgers on the grill, the stovetop, or the oven, so they’re perfect for burger nights any time of the year!
If you’re a burger lover, be sure to also check out my pesto chicken burgers, zucchini turkey burgers and Worcestershire sauce burger recipe for more healthy burger options this summer!
Elysia’s Recipe Recap
Healthy: Made with extra-lean ground chicken and packed with spinach for moisture, fiber, vitamin K, and folate. It’s lower in saturated fat than a traditional beef burger.
Quick and easy: The patties take about 5 minutes to mix and form, then it’s just a matter of cooking them.
So much flavor: Juicy meat, salty melty feta, and earthy spinach make the most flavorful bite.
Gluten-free and low-carb: No breadcrumbs needed, and each patty has just 2 grams of carbs.
Before You Start: Key Tips
A few things worth knowing before you mix the patties:
- Roast the garlic ahead of time. It takes about 30 minutes in the oven, so if you’re short on time on a weeknight, roast it the day before and store it in the fridge.
- Squeeze the spinach well. Whether you’re using fresh wilted spinach or thawed frozen, press out as much moisture as possible before adding it to the mixture. Excess liquid can make the patties fall apart.
- Don’t overmix. Mix until everything is just combined; otherwise, the burgers can become dense and dry.
- Make a thumbprint in the centre of each patty. This prevents them from puffing up on the grill.
- Chill the patties if needed. If you’re worried about them holding together on the grill, pop the formed patties in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes to firm up before cooking.
- Mix with oiled hands. Coat your hands lightly in olive oil before forming the patties to prevent the mixture from sticking.
Ingredient Notes
- Ground chicken: Forms the base of the patties. Extra lean ground chicken works best. You can also buy chicken breast and pulse it in a food processor to grind it yourself.
- Spinach: Adds moisture, nutrients, and a subtle flavor. Use fresh spinach that’s been wilted and chopped, or thawed frozen chopped spinach with the excess water squeezed out.
- Roasted garlic: The ingredient that makes these stand out. Roasting mellows and sweetens the garlic so it blends into the patty rather than overpowering it. Don’t skip it!
- Crumbled feta: Adds a salty, creamy element that pairs perfectly with the spinach and garlic. Light or full-fat both work.
- You’ll also need: Dijon mustard, your favorite hot sauce, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Keep in mind that feta is already quite salty, so go easy on any additional salt.
How to Make Chicken Feta Burgers
- Roast the garlic in the oven at 375°F and wilt the spinach in a large skillet over medium heat. Alternatively, you can use thawed frozen chopped spinach to save time (no need to cook it).
- Squeeze out any excess liquid from the spinach, let it come to room temperature, and then roughly chop both the spinach and the roasted garlic.
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix until just combined.
- Form the mixture into 6 patties at least 3/4 inch thick. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet until you’re ready to cook.
- Cook using your preferred method (see below) until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Serve on a toasted bun, in a lettuce wrap, or over a crisp salad.
On the Grill
Preheat an oiled grill to medium-high heat. Cook the patties for 10-12 minutes until fully cooked, flipping halfway.
On the Stovetop
Heat a grill pan or skillet over medium heat with a tablespoon of oil. Cook the patties for 5 to 6 minutes per side, being careful not to overcrowd the pan.
In the Oven
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place patties on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until cooked through.
Storage, Freezing, & Reheating
Fridge: Keep leftover cooked burgers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezer: Uncooked patties freeze well. Flash-freeze them on a baking sheet first, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag to keep frozen for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to grill, thaw them in the fridge overnight.
To freeze cooked patties, cool completely and then transfer to a freezer bag. Thaw before reheating.
Reheat: Warm them in the oven at 350°F to preserve the texture much better than the microwave. The stovetop works well too.
Serving Suggestions
These ground chicken feta burgers work for both casual family dinners and summer cookouts! Serve them on a whole grain bun or in a lettuce wrap for a lighter, lower-carb option. They pair nicely with sides like healthy dill potato salad, Greek quinoa salad, or grilled corn salad with feta. And for something a bit heartier, try a side of curly sweet potato fries or a pesto chickpea pasta salad.
Topping Ideas
These spinach and feta chicken burgers are delicious on their own, but a few good toppings take them to the next level. Try any combination of:
- Extra crumbled feta
- Sliced tomato
- Red onion
- Lettuce or arugula
- Avocado
- Pickles
- Mediterranean bruschetta
For sauces, healthy tzatziki sauce is the natural choice here and gives the whole burger even more of a Greek feel. Ketchup, mayo, or mustard all work too.
Recipe Variations
- Swap the meat: Ground turkey works just as well as ground chicken in this recipe.
- Add more veggies: Sun-dried tomatoes or chopped roasted red peppers are great additions to the patty mixture.
- Try a different cheese: Goat cheese or cubed mozzarella can be swapped in for the feta.
More Easy and Healthy Burger Recipes
- Chicken Caprese burgers
- Chicken Parm Burgers
- Frozen Burger Recipe
- Vegan Spicy Black Bean Burger Recipe
- Chicken Avocado Burgers
- Chickpea Burgers with Oats
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Healthy Ground Chicken Feta Burgers with Spinach
Video
Ingredients
- 6 ounces baby spinach,* or sub in thawed frozen spinach
- 5 cloves roasted garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds extra-lean ground chicken
- 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place garlic cloves in a baking dish and drizzle olive oil over cloves. Roast in oven for about 10-20 minutes, or until fragrant.
- Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in large frying pan over medium high heat. Add spinach to pan and toss frequently until wilted, about 4-5 minutes. Use the tongs to gently transfer the spinach to a colander. Squeeze the water out of the spinach and let it rest until room-temperature.
- Roughly chop the wilted spinach and garlic so that you can more easily mix them in with the ground chicken. Add it to a mixing bowl with the chicken, feta, Dijon mustard, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Alternatively, if you're using frozen chopped spinach, you can just thaw and add right in with the other ingredients.
- Gently, but thoroughly, mix everything together until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed. Form into 6 burger patties that are at least ¾ of an inch thick.**
- Preheat grill to medium-high. Soak a wadded paper towel generously with olive oil and use tongs to rub it over the clean grill grates, heavily oiling them. Ease the burger patties onto the grill and do not move them for 5-6 minutes. Flip the burgers and let them continue to cook for another 5-6 minutes, or until the burgers release from the grill and the interior temperature of the thickest part of the burgers reaches 165°F. Transfer the burgers to a clean plate.
- Serve the burgers on a bun, salad or lettuce wrap. Garnish and serve!
Notes
- *Use frozen spinach cubes to simplify recipe. Simply defrost frozen spinach cubes in fridge overnight or in microwave and strain any additional water. Add to chicken burger mixture and combine.
- Roast garlic in advance to save time when preparing recipe.
- Mix burger mixture with hands to ensure ingredients are well incorporated. You can coat your hands in olive oil to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands.
- Don’t over mix, as it may cause the burgers to dry out. Instead, mix until just combined, and then form into patties.
- Make a thumbprint in the middle of the each patty to keep the burgers from puffing up on the grill.
- To help the burgers stay together on the grill, you may wish to freeze the patties for 20-30 minutes to help them firm up. I’ve never had an issue with them falling apart on the grill, but it can be a helpful tip if you want to take extra precaution before grilling.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in May 2015 and was updated in August 2023 to include better photos and tips. The text, formatting and some photos were updated again in June 2026.
Everyone in my family loves these and can’t wait until I make them again
That’s the best kind of review — thank you Cathy! 😊 I love that your whole family is excited for them to come back on the menu. So happy they’re such a hit!
This is one of my go to recipes!! I absolutely love these. I usually add cut up roasted red peppers and pepperoncinis.
I was wondering if I could bake it in a loaf pan like meatloaf, has anyone ever done this? How long and what temp?
So happy you’ve been enjoying the burgers – these are definitely a favorite in our house too! Love the idea of adding roasted red peppers and pepperoncinis! I’ve never tried baking the mixture in a loaf pan, but you could probably try baking it at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes or so, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Keep me posted on how it goes if you try it out!
These are wonderful! I went exactly by the recipe, only adding a little fresh dill, then served it with sauteed mushrooms and onions on top. My husband even asked for it to go on the weekly rotation. Thank you for the delicious recipe.
Yum!! Love the addition of the fresh dill and extra veggies on top! I bet that would be so good. I’m so happy you found a new recipe to add to your weekly menu :)
The garlic took far longer and after checking it highly recommended you wrap your bulbs in aluminum foil!
I will certainly do it in the future!!
Yummy chicken burgers tho!
So glad you enjoyed the burgers! Every oven is different so perhaps my oven roasted the garlic a bit faster. Love the tip about wrapping the bulbs in foil. I’ll have to try that next time :)
These burgers were delicious! I roasted the garlic last night so it was really fast to put together tonight. I was worried they would stick to the grill, but the oil added with the paper towels and tongs did the trick. On our regular rotation from now on!
Awesome! So happy you loved the burgers! They’re a regular in our house too :)
These were great burgers, I did make a few changes though..I omitted the salt as I am watching my sodium intake n the feta has plenty for me. But I added a teaspoon of italian seasoning to mixture. And topped my burger with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a Tablespoon of plain greek yogurt and a half Tablespoon of sliced green onions
So happy you enjoyed the burgers! Thanks so much for sharing your modifications and taking the time to leave a review! I bet they were delicious with the extra seasoning and yogurt, lemon and onion topping. Yum!!
So good! My husband and I make these almost every week. They’re good on both a cast iron and on the grill. We’ll have them on buns with a side for dinner and over arugula as a salad for lunch the next day.
Yay!! So glad you and your husband have been enjoying these burgers — love the serving suggestions too! Thanks so much for returning to make the recipe and leave a review :)
These burgers are amazing!! I make them for my family all of the time.
Thanks so much for the feedback Carrie! So happy you and your family are enjoying these burgers! It’s one of my favourites as well :)
I love this recipe and make these burgers frequently, so I’ve kept a few leftover patties in my freezer from time to time. I haven’t actually tried them from the freezer yet; do you know if they freeze well and will taste just as good as they are fresh? I’m hoping to pull them out this weekend, but I wanted to check before I do!
*uncooked patties*
I’m so glad you love this recipe Chelsea! They are my go-to burgers for sure! I make a big batch of them and freeze them all the time. They taste just as good! Freezing the burgers in an uncooked state actually helps them to stick together better on the BBQ too. Enjoy!!
Wow, that looks really mouth watering, and I guess I can feed the children that dislikes garlics these burgers without them noticing, great!
Thanks! The roasted garlic in these burgers really makes the flavour pop! Hope you and your family enjoy!
Love the sound of these burgers. I make something similar with turkey. Feta and spinach is such a good combo!
Thank you Brittany! I love the idea of swapping the chicken with the turkey! Both work great with these flavour combinations :)
These look awesome. I need to make more chicken burgers for sure. Love all the flavors here and your photos are gorgeous!
Aw thanks so much Liz! Once you start making chicken burgers with lots of delicious flavours, you’ll be hooked. These are my favourite burgers of all time!
Oh my! Roasted garlic makes me so hungry as well and then you add feta and I am in love!
I totally agree Kristen! There’s just something about that feta and roasted garlic that makes me weak in the knees ;) Hope you get a chance to try out the recipe!
I seriously am loving everything about these burgers – especially those patties! Craving one to devour now.
Thank you for stopping by! The burgers are definitely delish! I could go for one too right now lol. By the way, I checked out your blog and I LOVE the style of your photography! Beautiful!!